Pete Buttigieg was confirmed as the Secretary of the Department of Transportation on February 2nd. Focused on safety and infrastructure, Buttigieg says “it’s time to get to work.”
Buttigieg’s confirmation went smoothly and seemed like a sure thing from the beginning. Some Senators, like Nebraska’s Sen. Deb Fischer, used the confirmation hearing to try and influence policy rather than ask questions to determine his fitness to serve. Sen. Fischer asked that the livestock industry retain “the needed flexibility in their hours of service.”
Smooth though it was, Buttigieg’s confirmation broke down a few barriers. First, Buttigieg is the first openly gay person to be confirmed as a cabinet secretary. Buttigieg, 39-years-old, is also the youngest Transportation Secretary in U.S. history.
Today, I was humbled to swear an oath to serve our nation in this moment of challenge and opportunity, knowing that we now have a historic chance to take American infrastructure to a new level. pic.twitter.com/ik9jm4M4QP
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 3, 2021
Buttigieg’s lack of experience is been a point of attack for his opponents both during his presidential campaign and after. He is a Harvard graduate who studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He served as a U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer between 2009 and 2017. During that time he spent 7 months in Afghanistan and attained the rank of Lieutenant. In 2012, he became mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
“Mayor Pete” – as he has been called – will be at the helm of a DOT which has its work cut out for it. Both Buttigieg and President Biden have talked up the administration’s commitment to infrastructure. The “Build Back Better” program is expected to put somewhere around $2 trillion into infrastructure projects nationwide.
Source: truckinginfo, fleetowner, overdrive, ttnews, twitter, truckersreport
Well he got caught lieing about his Military Deployment and as Mayor he sucked.
I expect nothing less from him in this position.
Yep, in 2015 he came out as gay, he was and is a progressive democrat, and in that year he was re-elected with 75% of the votes in a conservative city. He must really have sucked as a mayor.
Don’t expect anything from them, only thing to expect is the number of trucking companies and owner operators that will be out of business soon!!!
I am a truck driver. However, hiring a transportation secretary that has never been in the business? It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
True, that’s why the previous one was the wife of Mitch McConnell.
Once again the blind leading the blind right hand doesn’t know what the left hands doing left hand doesn’t give a damn. I like their opening comment let’s get to work I don’t know where the hell he’s been being he is gay I don’t want to know either, but I’ve been working the whole damn time this crap has been going on with no safety measures either that doesn’t matter I’m just a truck driver were a dime a dozen, oh my mistake we’ll called steering wheel holders nowadays, it’s really too bad the brotherhood of trucking can’t stick together and tell this country where to shove it!!!
No unity among truckers? Remember unions? Republicans chipped away at them for years, and now we grovel for scraps.
Yep those unions wanted biden ,got him now losing thier jobs because of him. Can not say i belive unions have any brains. (That means they are stupid )
$50k annual pension (not counting Social Security).
Inexpensive retiree medical coverage.
Top wages for 40 years with every benefit available.
Rights at work; contractually and with union promoted legislation.
Would have been better without conway low pay and benefits drivers working for much less, just like what happened in the ports/rails nationwide. I guess they know their value when they rolled over.
Thank you Teamsters. Life is good.
What does this homo know about trucks and truck drivers? This position should be held by someone with trucking exoerience or else its a charade
My thoughts exactly !
I found an article about guys like you. The article has a bunch of big words so I will summarize it for you. The more you claim to hate the gays, the more you look like you hate yourself.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/homophobes-might-be-hidden-homosexuals/
Cause you could not figure out how to say it yourself?
What a joke. Someone with trucking experience? To lead the railway administration, aviation administration, maritime administration? The FMCSA is 1 of 13 offices managed by the DOT. You’ll never have someone who is an expert in all 13 fields. I think he’ll do a fine job. He’s well educated and rounded with a good military background.
Really I think he’s a book smart only idiot..
Not only that! He should be able to fly an aircraft, command an oil tanker, drive a train, and design roads and bridges !!
Congrats Honorable Pete Buttigieg. You are the best thing to happen to the industry in a long time. WE support you.
Just because of who, or what gets him off, why is that something that is going to make him qualified to know anything about transportation? He knows nothing about any aspect of what the hard working people of this industry do to make this country move. Therefore it is going to be another four years of feckless leadership by those who are only interested in politics, instead of actually doing good and making our roads safer for all
You are obviously delusional
WHAT???
We’re doomed.
Unless he suddenly and remarkably breaks character.
Yeah because south bend has always been known for great roads and infrastructure!!
first thing he will do is to open more pickle parks haha !
then make all truck stop rest rooms uni sex haha !
Yep more of those pervs knocking on our door and waking us up at nite
He supports the LGBTQ community. More transvestite truckers in your pickle parks boys, looking for Frank the tank handler.
I need to apologize for that. I bet he knows how to handle challenging situations
he know’s about as much about truck’in as i know about nuclear fusion !!!
You people are a bunch of bigoted idiots and the reason I don’t call myself a “truck driver” even though I’ve been driving for a decade. I’m sure you had no problem with all the totally unqualified people trump installed in various positions with no experience. Since absolutely nothing got done under the trump admin to address the woeful condition of America’s infrastructure, I can only hope this admin will actually do something, as they are claiming they will.
I don’t like the dems either, but this unabashed hypocrisy coming from the right is shameful. Until you start calling out the failings of your own people, you have absolutely no credibility or position to point at others from. If repubs spent less time name calling and obstructing progress, we would have infrastructure worthy of “the world’s richest nation”. Since they didn’t prioritize it during 4 years of trump when they controlled the entire process, it seems fairly obvious it’s not important to them.
Also, the homophobic bs is childish and shows just how frightened and ignorant you people are.